Foiled Again! Satan’s efforts thwarted…

The Book of Adam and Eve is part of the Pseudepigrapha. It is a book that was written in Egypt a few centuries before Christ and parts of it are found in the Koran and the Talmud.

The term Pseudepigrapha (Greek, for “falsely attributed”) was given to Jewish writings from approximately the 13th – 3rd centuries BCE., which were attributed to authors who did not actually write them.

It is actually a fun read since it does make you ponder and wonder that there really were more details to Adam and Eve being expelled from the Garden of Eden then what we read in the scriptures. That being said, I do not read it as fact, though there are things that definitely could have been. What I did find while reading was an interesting pattern that we could liken to our own lives.

After Adam and Eve were expelled, Satan was bent on destroying them. He did not want Adam and Eve to succeed in any way whatsoever to please God and regain any of their former status with Him, so he devised many deceptions to thwart their efforts. Each time, they would fall for Satan’s deceptions, and God would have mercy on them and rescue them when they prayed for help.

One in particular was when Adam and Eve, new to the idea of having to take care of themselves, needed food for sustenance. God was merciful and placed two figs in the cave for Adam and Eve. Before they could get to the cave, Satan took the figs and buried them outside, hoping that Adam and Eve would not find them and would then perish. God, seeing this, defeated Satan by causing the figs to grow into two full-grown trees covered with fruit. Satan was distraught, for here he thought he would destroy Adam and Eve, and instead they would eat all they days of their lives.

The story makes a true point. How many times are we deceived and find ourselves making a mess of things? And yet, how many bad things seem to turn out (somewhere down the line) with a good ending? We are not perfect. We make mistakes. If we turn to our Heavenly Father, He can turn them for our good. He can take the mess that we are, and grow us into fruitful trees. He can foil Satan’s plan to destroy us.

In Romans 8:28 we are told, “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God…”

Life is full of trials whether caused by our own choices or not. No one will escape suffering in this life. We will all experience adversity, pain and sadness. Heavenly Father allows us to go through these things so that we can learn and grow.

“For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so … righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad…” (2 Ne. 2: 11).

Negative things can happen to good people when they make poor choices, but poor choices are not the cause of all of our suffering. Some things are just a part of our mortal life.

Matt. 5:45 “That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.”

By enduring our trials well, we become stronger and more understanding.

Rather than ask, “Why me?” maybe we should ask, “What can I learn from this?” Think about how God can use us to help others who might go through the same trial. Think about the wisdom and knowledge we gain from the experience. Think about the empathy we now have toward others.

Most importantly, we need to turn our hearts to our Father in Heaven and trust Him. Suffering in this life will soon come to an end and His mercy, justice and judgment will take care of the “whys”. In Him, we can have peace. John 16:33, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”

And Psalms 34:19 says, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all.”

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Articles of Faith

1 We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.
2 We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.
3 We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.
4 We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remissionof sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.
5 We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.
6 We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.
7 We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth.
8 We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormonto be the word of God.
9 We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.
10 We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.
11 We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.
12 We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.
13 We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.